Posted 30 Mar 2009

British businesspeople are increasingly acting upon their ambitions for some adventures in foreign climes by taking up volunteering abroad.

This is according to gap year firm Projects Abroad, which has highlighted that over 60 per cent of older candidates taking gap years and volunteering abroad schemes are British entrepreneurs or small business directors.

Recession is one of the reasons for the growing popularity of gap years among business owners, the firm stated, as more than 500,000 businesses have collapsed since the economic crisis began.

Dr Peter Slowe from the company stated that these people are "getting involved in ready-made enterprise schemes ranging from an organic farm in India, a football academy in Ghana, an IT company in Sri Lanka and a web-design company in Mexico".

Participants are also given the chance to be flexible with the length of their trips, choosing between two-week to 18-month-long projects, he adds.

According to Nadia Daer, trekker coordinator at Gapforce, embarking upon a gap year can help to enhance a CV and impress prospective employers.

Category: General Travel